Extraction column



Jan. 2,` 1951 T. B. KELLY, JR 2,536,373

ExTRAcTIoN COLUMN Filed July 23, 1949 Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EXTRAcTioN COLUMN Application July 23, 1949, Serial No. 106,446

(Cl. .2S-270) 5 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an improved type of contacting or solvent extraction type of column particularly adapted for contacting a slurry of sub-divided solid material with a suitable iluid medium. For example, the apparatus is especially desirable for effecting a solvent extraction operation in connection with Athabaska tar sands, or other hydrocarbonaceous materials such as torbinite, oil shale, and lignite, which may be crushed and charged to the apparatus in a sub-divided state.

There are, of course, many types of washing, mixing and contacting columns and apparatus, many of which are suitable for solvent extraction operations; however, all are not particularly adapted to the handling of a slurry or solid material in a continuous operation while maintaining a high degree of extraction efficiency. Also, it may be noted that there are vaous methods or systems for carrying out a solvent extraction operation, such as single contact, multiple contact, concurrent iiow, or countercurrent flow, which in turn directly affect the overall efficiency of the unit.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a single unitary apparatus which affects both a countercurrent and multiple contacting operation between a slurry stream and a solvent or washing stream.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an extraction column having a construction which insures not only good contacting but the continuous movement of the subdivided solid materials without danger of its clogging or plugging within the unit. y

Briefly, the improved apparatus of this invention comprises in combination, a confined vertically disposed chamber having a plurality of superimposed and spaced contacting decks, alternate decks or trays of the plurality of superimposed trays have a conically shaped deck plate with an elevated overflow port at the center portion thereof while the remaining intermediate or other alternately spaced decks of the plurality have an inverted cone-shaped deck plate, each of the contacting decks or trays having a plurality of risers and caps suitable to permit a rising fluid stream to pass therethrough, a rotatable shaft extending axially through said chamber and through each of the contacting decks, with arms and paddles attached to the shaft and extending therefrom above each of the contacting decks, a solids inlet connecting with the upper portion of said chamber above the uppermost deck, and a solids outlet from the lower 2 portion of the chamber, a fluid inlet at the lower end of the chamber and a products stream outlet from the upper portion thereof, downspout means from the outer periphery of the inverted coneshaped deck plates and additional downspout means along and around the rotatable shaft below each of the decks having the elevated center opening whereby the solids material charged to the chamber is passed alternately to the center portion of one contacting deck and to the outer periphery of the next contacting deck so that a multiple contact and countercurrent flow is maintained between descending solid material and a rising fluid stream.

More specifically, in a preferred embodiment of the contacting apparatus or column, arms and paddles from the rotating shaft are placed to pass each side of centrally positioned bubble caps and risers at each contacting deck, and the lower edge of each of the paddles is made to conform with the slope of the particular deck and thus insure the continuous movement of the solid material at each deck towards its downspout and thereby maintain a continuous movement of the material from the upper portion of the column to the lower end thereof. Also, paddles may be provided in the lower end of the chamber so that solid material after having been contacted a plurality of times is maintained in an agitated state and guided towards the particle outlet whereby to prevent its clogging or packing within the lower portion of the chamber.

In addition to the countercurrent flow through the unit and the multiple contact arrangement, it is a feature of the present invention to have the solid material at each deck agitated and guided by the paddles so that it moves upwardly along a sloping deck plate, to insure its being adequately contacted and/or subjected to adequate washing or solvent extraction with the fluid stream prior to being passed to the next lower deck. The alternate normal and inverted cone-shaped contacting deck plates are of particular advantage in having the solid material pass alternately from the center of the column to the exterior of the column as it descends from contacting deck to contacting deck through the vertically disposed column.

Additional features and advantages of the present apparatus will be more apparent upon reference to the accompanying drawing and the following description thereof.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown one embodiment of the improved apparatus which provides. for example, a desirable extraction rality of contacting decks which are spaced from verted cone-shaped deck plate;v extending wnwardly from the inside wall of the chamber-toa center opening and passageway 'l formed by a suitableretaining wall 8j., Any desired number of -^cont acting decks may be maintained within the column, the rising cone-shaped decks 4 alternating with the inverted cone-shaped decks 6 throughout the height of the column.

Extending upwardly from each of the deck plates @and t are a plurality of risers Si and acompanying bubble caps lil. The risers and caps being Asuitable to permit the upward new of the lvuidfrnedium chargedthrough the columny andv its-downward deflection into contact with the solid materiaun passing across the upper surface ofveachv of the decks. The solid material-,- such as tar sand in a sub-divided state, isV passed to the upper portion Vci" the chamber above the uppermostrde'ck plate by way of line lY and control valve l2u while Va suitable solvent material ispassedfto the lower portion of the extraction;

column or contacting column, by way of, line lli-having control valve il?, Thus, in operation, the solid;materiai passes from the upper portion ofm-the column Jdov-.fnwardlyv over the successive contacting plates-or trays tothe lower portionv ofgtheV chamber ccuntercurrently to arising huid4 medium lwhich passes upwardly through and' across eachcffthe contacting decks to ultimately befremovedyfrom the column along with a de'- siredl product or extracted material, In `this embodiment, the productV stream is discharged byway of line IAE.

A rotatable shaft l5.V extends axially throughout the'ntire length of the column'andl passes through each ofthe plurality of contactingdecks ontrays. 'lihevshafta is maintained in alignment* v'suitable upper bearing i land la suitable lower bearing ltwywhich in this embodiment is indicated as being within the lower end of the chamber-` lffflfliebearing il extends upwardlyirom'th'e' top cover 3, while the bearing it may be supported'by suitable rib-like or spoke-likel members ISL that extend from the inside wall of Tthe lower head2. The bearing 3 andthe supporting rodsror spokes la are of course constructed and A'to deck plate and insure a continuous agitation and movement of the solid material which passes across each deck plate. In the embodiment shown, suitable arms 2li and plurality of inner paddles 2l and exterior paddles 22 are positioned above each of the cone-shaped deck plates 4, with the lower edge of each of thepaddles or blades JZf'l and 122jf`being'sha'pvedto c ontorm with the-slope oflthedeck plated. Simillarly, arms 'and paddles extend from the rotating shaft i5 above each of the alternately positioned trays or deck plates 4. The blades or paddles 2l and 22 may' alsombe placed at an angle with respect to the shaft sdf that tl'iefsolid material is caused to now lor-riiove" "upwardly along the conical surfffafcc of thedcl plate and spill downwardly through the central opening il. Around the rota'tng shaft and'below each of the centrally positio'ried openings 5, is placed a suitable conduit or downspout pipe 23 which is suitable to pass solidmaterialv toithe nextloweridleck pIaeK/"A downpipef ravis or course provided, below each deck 'Affor the entire series ot-sup'eriniposedfand alternately placedcontacting trays or dejcksffhe; downpipes lorfconduits 23 may .be'fattached to the; rotating shaft yand vturnedftherewitlog with suit;- able hub and'spokeA members 2,4; being utilizedinsideof the downspout` 23,130 connect'it'to the; shaftv and to cause it to rotate therewith. The4 lower portion ofi thej downspout; is flared` into and forms an annular-shapedj outletjby means.' offa'n'inner .walltA and` outer wallZf, the latter being al continuation of,k the upper portion o ifthe,` conduit 2 3, Lwhiiethe inner' wall-25l 'conneci ;s ,tol the lrot-atingshaft at a point Abelow thelowenhub member 24: Arcylindrica-lj or annular- 'shaped; outlet portion is formediin orderftp:extend.aroundl the' inner Vretaining wallr8,;and the; lower center'; portionofqthe' plurality of.falternately placecldecki plates InA the 'presenth construction;suitable` inner paddles or bladesfzkfare placedrl radially: orangularlyoutward fromth'e vexterior wallZBl ini ordento' provide the desired: movementjoffthe solid material upwardly along the sloped ."dec'k plate Si' Arplu-rality oLexternally Npositioned paddles` 2,3 may be,v supported: by' 'suitable ,"arnif members 23 vandias notedin connection withthe. other #blades or paddles theymay" be placedv to" aid the upward movementohfthesolid material", along the A surface Aof. thedeck `plate andi into oneor more suitabledownspoutsfti which ek"-M tenddownwardlyv f rorrmtherouterv periphery 'oil each of," the inverted; cone-shaped deck "plate-S*V t: -Thedownspout 3m may in afsimplied. e'm' bodiment, be formed by a suitable oaiiie"or'platel member 3l; which extends-from and combines withthe inside walL of fthe* chamben' torfo'rm a suitably sized;downspoutchannel:"i i

Itjisto bie notedin connection; with my improvedi contacting chamber; thatthe solid nia terial charged ,to nthejupperportion of fthe' "cl'ianr` ber passes' in a gravity flow from? one d'eckor contacting tray'to-the next; butiiat 'eachff the" superimposed trays itis forcedmechanically by` agitation from jthe rotating'5 blades 'to"move;up"" wardly along an. inclinedgsloping"deckltplate or tray to asuitablerdownspout whclfcarriesiti to the next lower'trayl `It-.istobe furth'erffno'ted;` thatrthe'solid-material is alternately deposited, atthe centen'portio'n of one tray" and 'at the; outer periph'eryfoi the n'ex'ttraysb that' itfs'f traversing Athe tcross-'Sectional area "ci the"vei-" tically 'disposed column'or' chamber tfasitde scendsithroughthefcolumn'. As the"'construction providesifforfthe upward Vfr'novement"y orthe 52: terialpat,w each decker tray, there is insured an adequate contacting time on each tray and there is substantially no chance cf any of themateriai being p assed in a rapid or short-circuiting manner from one tray to another without adequately contacting liquid at each of the trays.

It is an additional feature of a preferred embodiment of the apparatus, to maintain a plurality of agitating and guiding blades or paddles within the lower end of the chamber as indicated by the supporting arms d2, inner paddles 33, `and outer paddles 34. The latter series of paddles are particularly desirable and useful in maintaining constant agitation oi the solid material prior to its being discharged from the chamber and preventing its settling or clogging within the chamber and blocking the continuous flow and a `continuously operating unit. The contacted or extracted solid material is continuously discharged through an outlet opening or passageway 35 which in turn may be provided with a mechanical conveyor, feed screw or the like, which insures the positive discharge of all solid material from the unit. A driven feed screw 36 is indicated in the present drawing, and provides one desirable form of mechanical discharging means.

It, of course, is obvious to those familiar with the design of apparatus of this type that minor modifications may be made in the apparatus within the scope of the present invention and that it is not intended to limit its construction and arrangement to the exact diagrammatic drawing which is shown and has been briefly described. For example, it is not intended to limit the apparatus to any set number of paddles or blades at each of the contacting decks, or to any set number of blades within the lower' end of the chamber for aiding in the discharge of solid material. Further, it is not intended to limit the apparatus to any set number of superimposed contacting decks, the number will vary with the particular type of contacting or extraction operation and types oi materials involved, while still other processing conditions'may effect the number of contacts required to effect an efficient operation. Also, while not shown in the drawing, a preferable embodiment of the apparatus has each of the deck plates 4 and 6 connected to the inside wall of the chamber l. in a removable manner for assembly purposes. Likewise, the rotatable shaft and connecting arms may be provided with construction or assembly joints for purposes of aiding in the assembly of the entire unit.

The unitary apparatus of this invention, as hereabove noted, has been 4designed and constructed to provide an emcient solvent extraction column such as may be used in connection with tar sands or other hydrocarbonaceous solids, wherein it is desired to obtain oleaginous substances therefrom by a suitable solvent fluid. However, to those who are familiar with processing operations in the chemical and petroleum arts, it is obvious that the same apparatus may be utilized as a reaction chamber, a scrubber, wash chamber, and the like, where it is desired to countercurrently contact a slurry or subdivided solid material in a continuous manner with a suitable fluid stream, thus obtaining an eilicient multiple contact and countercurrent ow processing operation.

I claim as my invention:

1. A mixing and contacting column adapted to effect the contact of sub-divided solid particles with a fluid stream, comprising in combination,

a confined vertically` disposed'chamber Shaving a plurality of spaced contacting decks, alternate decks of said plurality of decks having a conically shaped deck plate with a centrally positioned and elevated overiiow port, additional intermediate and alternately spaced decks of said plurality having an inverted cone-shaped deck plate, a plurality of risers and bubble caps extending upwardly from each of said deck plates, a rotatable shaft extending axially through said chamber and said decks, arms and paddles extending from said shaft above each of said plurality of contacting decks, said paddles having their lower ends conforming to the slope of the respective deck plate therebelow, whereby solids being passed downwardly through said chamber are forced upwardly at each of the contacting decks prior to being passed downwardly to the next lower deck', a centrally positioned dcwnspout passageway extending along and around said shaft below each of said conical decks having said centrally positioned overflow ports, a retaining wall around said shaft at the center portion of each of said alternate decks having said inverted cone-shaped deck plates, downspout means extending downwardly from the outer periphery of each of said decks having inverted cone-shaped deck plates, a solids inlet at the upper portion of said chamber above the upper of said plurality of decks and a solids outlet from the lower end or said chamber, a fluid inlet connecting with the lower portion of said chamber below the lowermost of said plurality of decks, and a product outlet from the upper portion of said chamber.

2. The mixing apparat-usv of claim 1 further characterized in that additional mixing paddles and arms extend from the lower portion of said shaft in the lower end of said chamber, whereby to maintain the continuous agitation of said solids prior to their being discharged from the lower end of the chamber.

3. A solvent extraction column adapted to counter-currently contact sub-divided solid material with a suitable solvent, comprising in combination, a confined and vertically disposed chamber having a plurality of superimposed and spaced contacting decks, alternate decks of said plurality of decks having conically shaped deck plates extending upwardly from the inside wall of said chamber and having elevated overflow ports in the center portion thereof, intermediate and alternately placed decks of said plurality of decks having an inverted cone-shaped deck plate, downspout means extending downwardly from the elevated periphery of last said decks along side the inner'wall of said chamber, a plurality of risers and accompanying bubble caps extending upwardly from each of said deck plates, a driven and rotatable shaft extending axially through said chamber and said plurality of decks with a plurality of arms and paddles extending from said shaft above each of said contacting decks, said paddles having their lower ends conforming to the slope of the respective conical and inverted cone-shaped deck plates, a retaining wall at the center portion of each of said intermediate decks having the inverted coneshaped deck plates, said wall extending upwardly to an elevation above the outer periphery of s the deck plate, whereby solids are forced to descend through said downspout means along said inner wall of the chamber, a centrally positioned downspout extending along and around said shaft below each of the rst mentioned alternate decks having the centrally positioned and elevated overflow ports, said centrally positioned :down- 'spouts discharging .into the `center `portion of said inverted cone-'shaped .deck plates, each of last said downspouts connecting with said rotatable yshaft `whereby lthey rotate -with the latter, a solids inlet to the upper portion of said chamber at 1a point above the uppermost 'of .said plurality ofV contacting decks and -a solids outlet from the lower `end of `saidA chamber, a solvent inlet in the lower portion of said chamber below the lowermost of said plurality .of decks and a product outlet -from .the upper portion Vof lsaid chamber, whereby said solvent moves upwardly through said column and through fsaid ycontacting decks counter-currently to a descendng'low .of solids material, and additional `arms and paddles `exftending from said rotatable `shaft lina lower portion of said 'chamber belowsaid contacting ydecks whereby to agitata and imove sadsolids through said outlet.

4. The apparatus` of rclaim 3 further characterized in that each of the contacting trays'are removably supported from the inner wallfof said chamber, said rotating shaft is removably positioned-within said chamber, land said chamber has a removable pressurenretaining top head.

'5. -The apparatus `of claim 4 stil-l further characterized in thatsaid risers and vcaps are spaced in a circular row Iaround the central portion lof each of said contacting decks, and said paddles from saidrotatingf shaft are positioned atv-each deck -to rotate in pathslpassing both sides of K y15 said vrisers and ca-ps.'

TALIFERRO B. KELLY, JR.

:No :references cited. i 

